The DMK MP, Ms Kanimozhi, and Kalaignar TV Managing Director, Mr Sharad Kumar, – accused in the 2G spectrum case – moved the Delhi High Court on Monday against the Special Court's order last week dismissing their bail plea.
Meanwhile, the High Court rejected the bail application of five top corporate executives, also accused in the case. They are: Mr Sanjay Chandra, the MD of Unitech Ltd and Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd; Mr Gautam Doshi, Group MD, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group; Mr Hari Nair, Senior Vice-President, Reliance ADA Group; Mr Surendra Pipara, Senior VP, R-ADA Group and Reliance Telecom Ltd, and Mr Vinod Goenka, Director, Swan Telecom and MD of DB Realty. All of them are in Tihar jail here.
“..Taking into account the gravity of the accusation against the petitioners (the executives) (and) a reasonable possibility of their interfering with the process of justice by tampering with the evidence, I do not deem it appropriate to release the petitioners on bail at this stage when the further investigation in the matter is going on and the trial is yet to begin,” Mr Justice Ajit Bharihoke said. He cited the Supreme Court's ruling cancelling the bail granted to the accused in the Satyam fraud case.
The executives accused in the 2G case had contended that they were entitled to bail as they were not arrested during the probe. But the High Court said this only “gives an insight into the influence wielded by them.”
They also claimed that the offence allegedly committed by them cannot be termed as one of grave magnitude as it entails a maximum punishment of only seven years. But the court said, the “quantum of sentence alone cannot be yardstick for measuring the gravity of offence. Another parameter to measure the gravity of offence is the impact of the offence on the society.”
“This is an offence of highest magnitude which not only impacts the society at large but also puts a question mark on the governance in the country which can adversely affect the economy of the country,” it added.
The court noted that the accused were shown to be prima facie involved in criminal conspiracy resulting in a loss of Rs 30,000 crore to the exchequer and corresponding gains to their companies. It said this money could have been used for the development of the country or for public welfare measures like food, health and education.